# My computer would not connect to wireless. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 6, 2016, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computer-would-not-connect-to-wireless/756680 "2016-06-06T22:43:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computer-would-not-connect-to-wireless/756680/1 "2016-06-06T22:43:47Z")
Well – it does connect. Then it works about a minute and disconnects. The source seems to have no problem. Are there any devices which can improve the comp’s conductibility? ---
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computer-would-not-connect-to-wireless/756680/2 "2016-06-07T01:29:34Z")
They are called “usb wireless adapters”. Does anyone have any suggestion which are the better ones? ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computer-would-not-connect-to-wireless/756680/3 "2016-06-07T01:51:35Z")
Dude, you’ve got to give more info than that. What make PC do you have, what version of Windows (or Mac) is it, how far away is your wireless router from your computer, does _anything_ connect to your router ok wirelessly (smartphone, tablet, laptop etc.), what internet provider do you have (ComCast, Verizon etc.). I assume you have either a wireless network card or wireless networking built-in to your motherboard. Either way, you have a WiFi antenna coming out of your PC case, right? First thing I’d check is to make sure you are using the wireless software/driver _that is specifically made for your brand of WiFi PC card or motherboard_. Don’t let Windows try and manage it. ---
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computer-would-not-connect-to-wireless/756680/4 "2016-06-07T02:23:24Z")
Thanks. I have Windows 10? Intel Core i5. No outside antenna for WiFi. Should I buy a “usb wireless adapter”? ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computer-would-not-connect-to-wireless/756680/5 "2016-06-07T02:27:57Z")
> [@CCitizen](#): > > Well – it does connect. Then it works about a minute and disconnects. The source seems to have no problem. Are there any devices which can improve the comp’s conductibility? ☹ aww… ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computer-would-not-connect-to-wireless/756680/6 "2016-06-07T02:31:47Z")
> [@CCitizen](#): > > Thanks. I have Windows 10? Intel Core i5. No outside antenna for WiFi. Should I buy a “usb wireless adapter”? The antenna is built in, and you almost certainly have wifi inside or you wouldn’t connect at all. Does your phone connect okay? If you right click on the wireless icon on the lower right of your screen, does it say you are getting a strong signal. Are you sure you’re connecting to your wifi and not to your neighbor’s by mistake? It is easy to click the wrong network. That may sound silly, but sometimes you have to eliminate the silly to get to the real cause. ---
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computer-would-not-connect-to-wireless/756680/7 "2016-06-07T03:53:15Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > The antenna is built in, and you almost certainly have wifi inside or you wouldn’t connect at all. Does your phone connect okay? If you right click on the wireless icon on the lower right of your screen, does it say you are getting a strong signal. Are you sure you’re connecting to your wifi and not to your neighbor’s by mistake? It is easy to click the wrong network. > That may sound silly, but sometimes you have to eliminate the silly to get to the real cause. Everything is checked and restarted about once every 2 minutes of my browsing time. Can there be something wrong with my Sandboxie? ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computer-would-not-connect-to-wireless/756680/8 "2016-06-07T04:40:38Z")
Could be lots of things. Your Wi-Fi could be flakey. Those cheap home routers don’t have a good reputation; some don’t last a year, some last a decade. Hail Ants has a point - do you have a smart phone or other wifi device, how does it behave? (And yes, are you sure you are on the right Wifi - my phone company’s equipment has its own wifi signal with its own name and password, as well I have an Apple Airport wifi point.) Is your computer behind a metal screen? A metal filing cabinet, metal door, etc. could be in direct line between PC and Wifi access point. From a DOS box, type ipconfig - see that you are actually getting an IP address. You can also do PING 8.8.8.8 -t Which is a continuous ping of the google DNS - an indicator of whether your internet connection is working. (CTL-C to kill the pinging).Does it actually stop getting ping responses intermittently? Or is it your Internet Explorer hanging up? Perhaps your PC is running at 100% with a runaway process. Right click on the clock in the bottom right (or ctl-alt-del) and select task manager. For processes tab, click on the CPU heading until it’s sorted by CPU usage percent descending. If something other that Idle is using all your CPU, you’ve got a different problem. And so on… From your brief description, almost anything could be happening. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computer-would-not-connect-to-wireless/756680/9 "2016-06-07T04:49:30Z")
> [@CCitizen](#): > > Well – it does connect. Then it works about a minute and disconnects. The source seems to have no problem. Are there any devices which can improve the comp’s conductibility? Are you sure that you are connecting to your wireless, and not your neighbors. Declan ---
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computer-would-not-connect-to-wireless/756680/10 "2016-06-07T04:52:10Z")
> [@Declan](#): > > Are you sure that you are connecting to your wireless, and not your neighbors. > > Declan 100% – checked once every 3 to 5 minutes – my house network. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computer-would-not-connect-to-wireless/756680/11 "2016-06-07T05:33:40Z")
My best guess would be USB dongle. I have similar issues, and wound up just bypassing it entirely. I instead use a wired connection to my laptop which shares its wireless Internet. ---
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computer-would-not-connect-to-wireless/756680/12 "2016-06-07T05:35:50Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > My best guess would be USB dongle. I have similar issues, and wound up just bypassing it entirely. I instead use a wired connection to my laptop which shares its wireless Internet. Thanks. Will buy it. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computer-would-not-connect-to-wireless/756680/13 "2016-06-07T05:36:52Z")
> [@CCitizen](#): > > Well – it does connect. Then it works about a minute and disconnects. The source seems to have no problem. Are there any devices which can improve the comp’s conductibility? How have you been able to stay logged in? ---
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computer-would-not-connect-to-wireless/756680/14 "2016-06-07T05:37:45Z")
> [@Enola\_Gay](#): > > How have you been able to stay logged in? By reconnecting about once every three minutes. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computer-would-not-connect-to-wireless/756680/15 "2016-06-07T14:26:03Z")
If it doesn’t improve after switching to a wifi dongle, you may have a problem based on local network crowding. Wi-Fi has a thing called “channels”, which is simply the center radio frequency the wireless signal is using. (Like an old-style over-the-air tv). For whatever reason (I think it’s the conspiracy of stupid), most wireless routers out-of-the-box seem to use the same channel, even different manufacturers. Which means that all of the wifi routers in the area are trying to talk over each other. This tends to reduce reliability of client connections. I installed an app on my Android phone called WiFi Manager which allows me to look at the wifi environment and see what networks are talking on what channels. If I see congestion (lots of networks on the same or adjacent channels to my network), I can log into the router and configure it to use another less crowded channel. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computer-would-not-connect-to-wireless/756680/16 "2016-06-07T15:32:59Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > If it doesn’t improve after switching to a wifi dongle, you may have a problem based on local network crowding. > > Wi-Fi has a thing called “channels”, which is simply the center radio frequency the wireless signal is using. (Like an old-style over-the-air tv). > > For whatever reason (I think it’s the conspiracy of stupid), most wireless routers out-of-the-box seem to use the same channel, even different manufacturers. > > Which means that all of the wifi routers in the area are trying to talk over each other. This tends to reduce reliability of client connections. > > I installed an app on my Android phone called WiFi Manager which allows me to look at the wifi environment and see what networks are talking on what channels. If I see congestion (lots of networks on the same or adjacent channels to my network), I can log into the router and configure it to use another less crowded channel. Or for PC’s try InSSIDer > **[inSSIDer](https://www.techspot.com/downloads/5936-inssider.html)** > > inSSIDer for Home gives you visibility into your Wi-Fi environment. ---
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computer-would-not-connect-to-wireless/756680/17 "2016-06-07T22:32:49Z")
Now I am $12 poorer then yesterday. The USB is on the way.